The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea paniculata and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘KOLMAKILIMA’. ‘KOLMAKILIMA’ represents a new smooth hydrangea, a perennial shrub grown for landscape use.
‘KOLMAKILIMA’ arose from an ongoing breeding program by the Inventor in Boskoop, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to obtain new cultivars of Hydrangea paniculata with short, strong stems and mophead-like blooms. ‘KOLMAKILIMA’ arose as a seedling derived from open pollination of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Kolmagimo’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,438 in July of 2006. ‘KOLMAKILIMA’ was selected a single unique plant from amongst the resulting seedlings in July of 2010.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by stem cuttings by the Inventor in Boskoop, The Netherlands in 2009. Asexual propagation by stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.